Old and Lost Love
by Queens of Hell
Summary: Katherine Beckett has disappeared, and Richard Castle does the only thing he can do. Call her mysterious contact to come and rescue her. But who is this woman, and why does Beckett trust her so much? {AU}
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a bit of a on-shot, but there will e others that sort of layer on top if that makes any sense.**

**-Anya**

* * *

><p>I quietly excused myself from the meeting, answering the call. I don't recognize the number, nor does the caller introduce themselves. My guard is up instantly.<p>

"Who is this and how did you get this number?" I demand harshly.

I didn't just give people this number. It was emergencies only.

"_My name is Richard Castle. I was told to call this number if Kate Beckett was ever in trouble_." The person on the other end says.

I freeze.

"Where are you?" I start walking towards my office, slinging my blazer over my arm.

"_12th Precinct Homicide Dept., New York City._" He answers, confused.

"I'll be there in three hours. Don't move. "I hang up, throwing things into my briefcase.

I poke my head into my boss's office.

"I'm taking an undetermined leave of absence. Ask my assistant for all of the papers." I duck out before he can argue with me.

I drive home, and prep for my three hour drive to New York.

Pencil skirt and blazer off, black jeans and leather jacket on. I pack a duffle bag, and pick up a blue backpack I keep hidden under my bed.

I lock up the flat, my boots thunderous in the stairwell.

_New York City, here I come_.

* * *

><p>I weaved through the throng of police, flashing my badge to everyone and anyone who tried to stop me. I get to the Homicide Dept. Floor, and flash my badge to one of the officers. "Where's Richard Castle?"<p>

He points me in the direction of a rather handsome man sitting on a desk staring at a white board.

"Richard Castle?" I break him out of his reverie. He stares at me.

"You called me earlier this morning. Kate's contact." I explain.

"Oh. Hey." He nods.

"What have we got?" I ask.

"Katherine Beckett disappeared from her home around one. Neighbors called police after they heard a gunshot, which had been preceded by screams, breaking glass, and etcetera." A Latino man appears to my right. "Javier Esposito." He introduces, offering his hand. I ignore it. He knows who I am.

Kate would have briefed them. If anything ever happened to her, I was the one to call. They could ask my name all they want, but I wouldn't tell them until I saw Katie.

"Crime scene photos?" He pulls the packet off the board and hands them to me.

I flip through the photos, noticing something odd. "That's weird."

Castle turns to me. "What's weird?"

I tap the picture of her living room. "The carpet. There's pink nail polish on it."

"And?" He shrugs.

"Katie owns one bottle of pink nail polish. The pink nail polish she stole from me in college." I drop the photos into Esposito's hands.

"I'll be back." I walk towards the stairs, Castle running after me.

"Where are you going?" He asks, curious.

"Katie hated that polish. So what is it doing on her favorite rug?" I storm down the stairs, Castle still running after me. Wisps of black hair escaped my braid and I cursed the heavens. The braid took forever to do.

"I'm coming with you."

"Go ahead." We reach my FBI issue SUV, and I peel into traffic, throwing on the siren. My knuckles were clenched on the wheel, my fair skin going whiter with the pressure.

"Turn right here." Castle tries to direct me towards Katie's apartment.

"I know the way. And my route is faster." I deadpan. And it was. We got there within five minutes.

I reach over into the glove compartment and pull out a purple key. We hop out, and I lead the way to her level, unlocking the door and bee lining for the living room. I roll up the rug, and stare at the bright pink message.

Castle balks. All he can see are symbols painted on the hardwood.

I see something very different. In college one summer, Katie and I created our own language so we could pass notes in class.

Where Castle sees shapes, I see words.

Him. Cabin. Tree.

Meaning nothing to everyone, but everything to me.

* * *

><p>I stare at the picture taped to the murder board, my translation written underneath.<p>

"Why isn't it sloppy?" I ask, confused.

"Beckett has incredibly neat handwriting." Castle points out

I sigh and roll my eyes. "I know but that's not the_ point_." I gesture to one of the symbols. "Look at the lines. If this was_ minutes_ before she was attacked, the lines wouldn't be this straight. Her hand would have been shaking. Katie would have been worried that her attacker would find her writing the message."

He stares at me. "So what you're saying is..."

I nod my sharp blue eyes connecting with Castle's (also) blue ones. "Katie knew she would be attacked sooner or later. She left this message for me as soon as she figured it out." I lean against the desk, crossing my arms. "She knew you'd call me, and I'd get the clue. But one thing I don't understand."

I point to the word at the end. "These symbols. By swapping the position of two of the shapes, the word can also be translated to "castle"." I turn to him. "She always mixed them up. Writing "tree" when she wanted to talk about a castle."

"What does that mean?" The man asks.

"She could be talking about a tree or a castle, and I have no idea."

"Do we think she means _a_ castle or _the_ Castle?" Esposito's partner asks.

That's when the light bulb goes off. "Your key words." I turn to Castle. "When Kate told you to call me if something ever happened to her, she gave you a word. What was it?"

I can see the gears turning in his head.

"But how will that help?" Esposito asks gruffly.

"Katie knew there would only be one time you would ever call me. If this happened. I know who has her, just not where."

"You know who has Beckett?" Esposito's partner, Ryan I think, blurts.

"None of his information will help you." I say. "Castle. What was your key word?"

"Um, chateau, I think actually." He says.

"Tableau. It was tableau." I say, bewildered.

"Yeah. That." He nods vigorously.

I laugh/sigh in relief. "Katherine Beckett I could kiss you!"

I see Castle's eyebrows go up in my peripheral vision.

"Get a retrieval team ready. We're bringing her back."

I turn to Castle as Esposito and Ryan scurry off. "Get your vest, writer boy. You can have one of my Tasers."

He pouts, but looks excited at the chance to handle a weapon. I meet Esposito and Ryan in the lobby. They have a retrieval team behind them.

"Listen up!" I holler.

Every eye is on me. "This is a simple retrieval. Get in, remove the target, and get out. Minimal casualties. I want paralysis shots, anything to incapitate your opponent without killing them. If they've shot at you, however, kill shots are permitted." I rub my arms. "But please, deaths mean paperwork and I hate paperwork."

The team nods.

"Our retrieval target is Detective Katherine Beckett. I want her out safely. We are up against a man known as Charles Knightly. He will have around twenty or so men patrolling his property. A cabin in a pine grove is the only building. The property border is approx. half an acre, with the cabin directly in the middle."

"Let's bring the Detective home. Follow the SUV." We march out onto the street, and Esposito, Ryan and Castle all file in.

Castle is in shotgun, and the other boys get stuck in the backseat.

"We still don't know your name." Castle remarks. "I don't know what to call you."

"My title is Agent, and you may address me as such until I am standing next to Katie." I remark, siren blaring, the ten patrol cars trying to keep up as I weave through NY traffic.

"How do you know Beckett?" Ryan asks.

"School." I say simply

"How long have you known her?" Castle asks

I shoot the man next to me a scathing glance. "What the fuck is this? Twenty bloody questions?"

"Yes." He says simply.

"Look. I've known Katie for over twenty years. She trusts me explicably. She knows I can get her out of anything. Kidnapping included. So right now, I'm going to concentrate on getting my best friend out of trouble." I snap.

"Sorry." Castle holds his hands up in surrender.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just really worried about her. I don't understand why she didn't call me when she first found out." I sigh, turning a sharp corner, hearing the boys in the back thrown to the right.

The property edge looms up ahead, and I take a deep breath.

I'm coming, Katie.

* * *

><p>[I didn't feel like writing the battle scene so time skip]<p>

"_KATHERINE_!" I scream into the bunker, looking around wildly.

"_OVER HERE_!" She screams back, and keeps talking so I can follow her voice. "I'm back here. I'm okay. I'm not that hurt. Nothing you can't fix easy."

I finally locate her tied to a pipe above her head, blood dribbling down her left temple. She was awkwardly standing/hanging, her wrists bound above the pipe. Liar. She's hurt bad.

"Oh Katie." I pull a knife off my weapons belt, sawing off her restraints.

She collapses, partially weak from the blood loss. Her jeans are torn, and I see a bad gash down the side of her leg.

I replace the knife, and wrap my arm around her, hold her up.

"Can you walk?" I ask.

She shakes her head a bit before wincing. I smile softly, before picking her up. She's a lot lighter than she looks, and I've always been rather strong. She wraps her hands around my neck, leaning her head against my chest.

I slowly walk out of the bunker-cabin-thing, trying not to jostle the woman in my arms. Castle is waiting back at the car, having decided that storming a crumbling building was not in his job description.

He gasps at the sight of Kate in my arms, and stand up.

"Open the trunk." I order, and he does as told.

I set Katie down, holding her steady.

"I'm going to have to clean your wounds, Kate." I say quietly.

"Hurry up already." She breaths, and I bust out my massive medical kit. I first grab the towel, and a bottle of water, handing them to Castle.

"Clean the blood off. Don't touch her cuts." I say, watching as he tenderly wipes away all the sticky red.

I grab another towel, pouring a bit of rubbing alcohol on it I nudge Castle away, silently treating Kate's injuries, assessing the damage. I finish with her head, pressing a pad to it then wrapping it in gauze.

"I hope you don't like these jeans." I joke, pulling out my knife again. I cut the leg so I can properly get to the slash.

A sharp intake of breath tells me Castle has seen it. A long, jagged cut stretches almost all the way down her thigh.

I clean the blood away and disinfect the cut.

"It's going to need stitches, Katie." I look at her. "I'm going to wrap it, hold off the bleeding until we can get you to the hospital."

I wrap her entire thigh, and it looks like she's part mummy.

"Castle, call an ambulance. Stay with her until it comes. I'm going to get any of the officers that got injured." I order, grabbing the kit and leaving the two partners sitting in the trunk of my car.

I've just wrapped my sixth gunshot wound when I hear the sirens.

"Gunshots, head traumas, large cuts that need stitches!" I point towards the three ambulances coming down the road. Ten officers trudge down over, where paramedics are on to them in seconds.

I walk back to my SUV where Castle is trying to get Kate to the med truck, and I roll my eyes.

I simply pick her up, and walk over to a gurney, setting her down. I walk over to a paramedic. "She has a cut on her left temple and an eight inch gash on her right thigh. Assorted cuts and bruises and a possible injured rib." I say, point towards her.

His eyes widen, and he barks something to three others, and the haul Kate into the back of the ambulance.

She glares. "Don't you dare fucking leave me."

I roll my eyes, but dig around for my car keys. I throw them to Castle.

"Not a scratch, writer boy. That's my baby." I warn. Before hopping into the ambulance next to a medic.

He stares as the truck drives away, the unreadable expression on his face getting smaller and smaller.

* * *

><p>I sat in the chair next to Kate's bed, waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. She had been in surgery for forty three minutes, all of which were spent pacing outside the doors. Eighty-seven stitches that should leave only a pale line.<p>

"Natalia?" My name is soft on her lips.

"Right here, Katie." I squeeze her hand, sighing softy. "You knew he'd come get you."

"Talia..." She groans.

"No, Katie. Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you. I could have stopped him." I say, tiredly. The day's events were catching up to me. It was closing in on ten o'clock at night. I had left DC around eight am, having been in the building for a seven thirty meeting.

"I wanted to do it on my own." She mumbles.

Same old Kate Beckett. "But you don't have too. You have me, writer boy even." I smile at her. "We love you, Kate. God help anyone who tries to take you from us."

She smiles back. "I know."

"Beckett!" Castle practically barges in, worry etched all over his face.

Kate tries to sit up, but quits at my glare. I push the upright button the control, and help her reposition.

I stand up, patting her hand. "I'll be back. I'm hungry." I walk out of the room, but poke my head back in.

"Oh, and Richard Castle?" He looks at me. "I'm Natalia. Nice to meet you."

I head out the door, and in the direction of the hospital cafe.

* * *

><p>Castle sits down in the chair previously occupied by Natalia.<p>

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

"Like the living dead." She laughs, wincing as pain twinges through her bruised rib.

"You scared us all, Beckett." Castle says, sighing. "When we realized you were gone, everyone was frantic." He chuckles. "I thought Ryan was going to Taser me at one point."

Kate smiles. "Thanks for saving me."

Castle seems to deflate a bit at. "It was all your agent friend. She found your clue and your message. She led us to the cabin and went in and pulled you out." He rubs his face. "Seeing you being carried like that- which was _incredible_, that woman does _not_ look that strong- I thought you were dead. I thought we were too late, and it was awful."

"I'm not dead, Castle. You saved me. Talia wouldn't even have known to come to New York if you hadn't called." Kate soothes.

"Yeah." Castle nods, looking at Kate all wrapped and stuck in a hospital.

"How long do you have to stay?" He asks.

Kate shrugs. "I woke up like ten minutes ago. You'll have to ask Talia."

"You were more than just friends, weren't you?" He asks suddenly.

Kate turns sharply, eyes having traveled to look outside the small window.

"She was my best friend." Kate's holding back information. "She helped me through my mother's death. She actually introduced me to your books." She smiles, probably thinking back to the day.

"Just tell him, Katie." Natalia says, leaning against the open door. "He won't judge you."

"Tell me what?" Castle asks suspiciously.

"It's nothing, Castle." Kate says.

"You asked who I was to Katie." Talia folds her arms, and stops leaning. "I was her girlfriend. I told you I'd known Katie for over twenty years. We met on the very first day of Kindergarten. It wasn't until we were in college together that I managed to convince her to date me."

She grins, patting Castle on the head like a puppy. "Don't worry your precious head off. Katie's girl days are over." She throws the injured woman a look. "At least, I think so."

Kate nods. "Woo boys."

"Woo girls." Talia counters, sticking her tongue out.

Castle watches the two woman banter, and understands why Natalia had been so frantic. Kate was everything to her, even long after they weren't together anymore. She had fallen in love, and had never fallen out.

With a jolt, the puzzle Castle had been trying to figure out solved itself.

He was just like Natalia.

Madly in love with one Katherine Beckett.

**So this is a bit of a one-shot, but there will be others that layer onto this one, if that makes any sense.**

**-Anya**


	2. Chapter 2

I watched Katherine and Richard say their vows, Katie looking gorgeous in white. As I sweep my eyes over the crowd, my entire life changes.

The barrel of a rifle is peeking out between the trees, aimed directly at Katie.

"_KAT_!" I rush in front of my best friend, watching the trigger finger twitch, and an explosion of utter _pain_ in my chest. I collapse to the ground.

I could feel the front of my dress soaking with blood. _My blood_. I gasp for breathe, every beat of my heart means another wave of torture.

"Talia!" Katie screams, dropping to her knees.

She presses her hands to the wound, horrified when her hands sink into the pool of red.

I hear someone calling 911, and Katie begging me to stay with her, to stay awake.

My eyes were getting heavy

There were spots in vision

I felt lighter, lighter, _light_

They say dying is just like falling asleep. I felt my eyes closing, my heart slowing. Katie was screaming now, tell me to hang on and that I would live.

My eyes _closed._

My heart _fluttered._

My heart _slowed. _

My heart

_Stopped. _

The room was white. _Everything was white_. The walls, the floor, the duvet, the rug. The only thing that stood out against the white was my own black hair. A woman in a -you guessed it- white dress appeared in a door that wasn't there before.

"Natalia Felicia Parker." The woman reads off her clipboard. "Died 2:33pm of a bullet to the heart."

"Where am I?" I ask, still sitting in the bed.

The woman continues. "Age 34. Occupation: FBI Agent."

"Seriously, where am I." I ask again

The woman sighs. "Why do I always get the atheists?"

She beckons me up, and I adjust the white dress and pad after her, my feet bare.

"Welcome to the Otherworld." The woman says. "Some call it Heaven, some call it Hell." She shrugs. "There really is no difference. You die, your life is judged, and you live out your afterlife."

"So I'm dead then." I clarify, in a sort of haze. "And now I just hang out?"

"Pretty much."

"Can I go back?" I ask.

"We're going to see Mother." The woman doesn't answer. "Mother and her council will judge you and decide."

I had no idea, but something told me following her would be a good idea.

As it turned out, I was right. We walked down more hallways, eventually ending up in front of massive golden doors.

The woman stopped in front of the doors, and turned to me. "Mother will see you now."

The door swung open on its own, and all I could think of was, "I wish I had listened to my mother and taken Chinese."

The room was massive. Seven pillars surrounded me, three rows filled with women between each. There were Indians and African Americans and I could swear that was Princess Diana sitting next to Eleanor Roosevelt.

"Natalia Felicia Parker." The woman directly in front of me says loudly, and I can only whimper a bit inside.

It was the lost Russian princess Anastasia. I was being _judged_ in _Heaven_ by a lost Russian royal.

"Ваша светлость" I squeak. _Your Grace._

"Natalia Parker. Daughter of Anna Aislenova and Richard Parker." The Princess says, her English heavily thickened by an Old Russian accent.

I nod dumbly.

"Occupation: an FBI agent, writer and Russian tutor." The princess lists off a scroll.

I nod again.

"Died saving Katherine Beckett from a sniper at her wedding." The princess looks at me with pity. "Your last day alive, spent watching the woman you love marry another."

I finally found my voice. "Katie loves Castle. My time to make her smile passed. I spent it well, and I am happy to see her find someone she can spend the rest of her life with."

"But you are not done." Anastasia says simply. "Your time on Earth is not yet over."

"I…" I sigh. "I wanted to watch Katie marry him, wanted to visit her in the hospital as she gave birth to her first child. I wanted to remain her friend until the day I died from _natural _causes."

"Why did you jump in front of her?" A woman to the right asks, and I swear on every last Russian candy stored in the box under my bed that it is Anne Bonny _the pirate. _

"I did not think. I only acted. If you truly love something, you will go to the ends of the earth to protect it."

I think my choice of words amused her, because she started to laugh before the woman on her left elbowed her. That woman turned to me.

"You still love Kathrine Beckett." She states.

"I won't ever stop."

Princess Anastasia's gaze drops, as if listening to something.

She looks up at me, confused.

"Mother says she is Marked."

The room explodes. "What? Then why is she here?!" Marie Curie yells from my left and that's when everything kind of clicks.

I'm dead, and to pass into the afterlife, you must be judged by the most influential people of your gender throughout history. Marie Curie, Anne Bonny, Princess Anastasia. Each did something to history, changed it, empowered those who came after.

And there was something they didn't like about me.

"Natalia Felicia Parker, as you have been Marked by Mother, you are hereby returned to earth to live out the rest of your natural life." Princess Anastasia thunders above the arguing women, and I stare dumbstruck.

"Protect Katherine Beckett, as is your duty to Mother and the Beyond."

* * *

><p>I peeled my eyes open. I died. I felt my heart stop. So where was I? Anastasia said I was to return, something about being Marked.<p>

As feeling started to return to my body, and my brain started to function, I became quite aware of a body pressed against my side, a head curled around my left arm. I raised my opposite arm. It was a bit of a struggle really. The thing felt like it was made of lead.

I looked down at the head of wavy brown hair, and I recognized Katie immediately. I pressed my fingers to her cheek, pulling her out of her sleep.

"Talia?" She murmurs, starting to sit up. Her brain starts processing what she's seeing and she shoots up. "Talia!"

She scrambles off the bed, staring. "You're awake!"

I smile.

"I should probably call the doctors." Katie presses the button, and soon one of the nurses is walking through the door.

"You're awake!" The nurse gasps, and rushes out. I look at Katie questioningly.

"They told us you would never wake up." Katie says, staring at her hands. "The bullet? It slit your aorta. You should be dead."

The nurse returns with the doctor who also lets out a startled, "You're awake!"

Apparently there was a very low chance of me waking if even the doctor was surprised.

The two medical professionals start to bustle around, testing me, checking that everything way alright.

After some water and telling Katie they were going to keep me overnight to watch me, they left and I was alone with Kate.

"What's the last thing you remember?" She asks softly, curled in a chair next to my bed.

"You're wedding."

Oh fuck.

"I screwed up your wedding." I say, horrified. "Oh my god Katie I'm so sorry."

"You saved my life. A new wedding date is a small price to pay." She soothes, smiling. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I am too." I purse my lips. "Hey. How long was I out?"

"A week." She says.

"You're kidding. I got shot, died, then wake up a week later in a hospital." I muse, rather impressed with myself.

"You didn't die. They got to you in time." Katie disagrees.

In that moment, I swore I would never tell Katie the truth. I never died, and there was no Council, no Mother.

But one thing was for sure. If I _ever_ had to face the Council again, I wanted _no_ regrets about my life.

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Author's Note<strong>:_

_This is a rather important message. I recently severely injured my knee, and 2.5 hours in the ER and an X-Ray couldn't tell me what was wrong. I am unable to get an MRI until late next week. Worst case scenario, I will be stuck on bed rest for a week or so. Depending on how bad the injury is and whether or not I need surgery will impact how much I write, so there is a chance that will not be many more updates for a while._

_Answers to Reviews:_

caskett fan 7970: _Here you go, the next part of the my little universe? Don't worry, I changed the mistake. Thanks for pointing it out :)_

kwarner: _Thanks :) Here's the next part_

Andrew (guest):_ Thank you for bringing it to my attention that I brutally destroyed the characters and plot. I hope you noticed he little AU addition if you stopped by to read the next part. And fyi, I do watch Castle. Otherwise, I wouldn't write about it. As a matter of fact, Im watching 4x10 'Cuffed' as I write this lovely little message. Cheers._


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